Aging and Life Enhancement
By Kathryn Kilpatrick, M.A.
No word games or numbers puzzles today. This time, our brain game is all about visual reasoning. Solving visual puzzles requires nonverbal reasoning and the ability to analyze and synthesize abstract visual stimuli.
By doing visual brain teasers like the ones in this list, you’re sharpening those skills. Think of it as a workout for your brain. Strengthening your visual-spatial skills trains your brain to see the bigger picture by forming new neural connections.
You know you have to exercise your brain just like your muscles. ~Will Rogers
Engaging in these activities systematically may lead to tangible improvements in focus, reasoning and overall mental performance.
Visual spatial skills help with everyday tasks such as navigating environments, assembling furniture, organizing spaces and understanding maps, etc. Aging may contribute to declines in visual perception as well as scanning. Sometimes there are slower processing speeds and or/reduced peripheral vision. When there is decreased ability to search complex environments, there can be frustrations but also safety issues.
Perhaps you can relate to the frustration of trying to find something you put down that was in your hand a minute ago. Pay attention when you put it down. This should be your “go to” strategy. Being effective in your scanning strategies may help in finding that literal “needle in the haystack” in that sea of clutter.
Keep your brain active. Engage your brain. Your brain is the most fantastic machine ever created, and it needs to be exercised. ~Peter Kinderman
Since this might be a new task for you, look at the items and check out the answers, THEN take a break and come back to it later to complete the sequence.
ANSWERS
1) C
2) D
3) E
4) C
5) C
6) D
7) C
8) B
9) A
10) C
Your visual perceptual skills can have an impact on many of your everyday tasks such as reading or writing as well as cooking, driving or even navigating environments safely. There are a variety of games that support strengthening those skills even word and jigsaw puzzles.
Explore some that may be new to you or more complex. By doing them it will enable you to improve your ability to pay better attention to details. Safety matters and getting into a better scanning of the bigger picture, especially when in a “hurry” can be very helpful. Sometimes we forget the impact it can have on many everyday tasks, including reading, writing, driving, cooking, and safely navigating environments. Having this habit become more automatic and thorough can help you now and to be more automatic whether they are new issues later or perhaps when something subtle seems to be different.
“I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells.” ~Dr. Seuss
Interesting Options to Try
Mirror Exercises: Look at an object and try to draw it with your non-dominant hand or draw it upside down.
Also, you can revisit my February Brain Game by clicking HERE.
“Funny thing about getting older, your eyesight starts getting weaker but your ability to see through people gets much better.” ~ Unknown
KILPATRICK MEMORY FITNESS AND BRAIN GAME PRODUCTS
BRAIN TEASERS
ACTIVITIES GALORE, progressing from simple to complex with answers provided.
- Visual Brain Games
- Word Challengers ( February Puzzle)
- Numerical Brain Games
- Verbal Brain Games
PLUS
- Walking the Path to Memory Fitness
- One Week at a Time
Excellent for anyone of any age who wants to maximize their memory, learn tips to take care of some of those memory frustrations.
PLUS information on healthier habits
Contact AA Blueprint Akron, OH (330-794-8803) to request a catalog or place an order for one of Kathryn’s products.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
~Attributed to Henry Ford
